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roesslyngTitle: How it happened, or so they say
Fandom: Stand Still Stay Silent
Characters/Pairing: Various OCs - Timo/Svitlana, Tarja, & Vesa
Rating: 13+
Length: 850 words
Summary: You say you want to know how it went. What happened to them. Are you sure about that?
Other: Tarja is the speaker here. This conversation takes place when Vesa is still pretty young - either before or shortly after they leave for Kajaani. (So, older than seven, younger than ten, probably.) The events referred to are also mentioned in Tarja the Boat Builder, but you don't need to read that one to make sense of this. Prompt was "last stand". [Original post]
How it happened, or so they say
So. You want me to tell you how it happened, do you?
Fine. Since you keep asking. Maybe you'll leave me alone after this.
This didn't happen long ago. This didn't happen when the world fell, either. So, I'm not going to pretend like it did. None of that.
There was a hunter. And there was a mage. And they lived by the lake, at Ontojärvi. That was where they lived. And those two had a son, and the hunter had a sister, and that sister was a carpenter. And they all lived together, and they were very happy.
Wait. Hold on a minute. Pass me that bottle, will you? I'm too sober for this.
Don't look at me like that.
Right. So. There was a troll hunter. He was big and strong and gentle, and he had a scar on his face, going all the way from his temple down to – here, just like this. And he loved his sister and his wife and his son.
There was a mage. Well, I guess she was a mage. She wasn't a right and proper Finnish mage; she was something else, I don't know what. But she had magic, and she could use it, so she was a mage, I guess. Anyway, she was kind, and she had hair like the sun. And she loved her son and her husband and her village, in that order. Maybe she loved her sister-in-law, too.
And they all lived at Ontojärvi, and they were very happy.
But they heard that there was danger coming. That there was something coming from the east. So everyone looked out for it.
It was a giant. That is what they said. I don't know how they found that out, what scouts they sent out into the forest, what things those scouts saw there. I don't know what the mages saw when they went walking in their dreams. Or what that other mage might have seen, that yellow-haired woman. Maybe she turned into a wolf and went searching for it, running to find it in the night. She said she could do that. I don't know if I believe it.
Anyway. It was a giant. The biggest fucking – sorry, kid. I mean. It was the biggest giant anyone had ever seen. It was made up of all kinds of people and animals and trolls and beasts and they were all screaming in a language that nobody could understand. They said it was so big that the lake wouldn't stop it. They said that no amount of water would keep it from coming. That it would just pass right through, and part of it would touch the bottom of the lake, and the rest would tower above the lake, and it would plough through the water and overcome all of our little islands, and that would be the end of Ontojärvi.
Do you believe that?
Well. They went to take care of it, some hunters from that village. And they went into the forest to the east, and most of them didn't come out. The ones that did come back, well – they were in rough shape. I know you know this. I know you saw them. Everyone saw them.
Anyway. A lot of them died. And the giant came closer. People talked about sending word to Kajaani, about asking for reinforcements. But everyone figured, by the time the message got there, and their forces were mobilized, we'd be dead, all of us. Screw it.
So, a second group went out. They were better-prepared than the first, or at least they thought they were, because they'd heard what they were dealing with from the poor sods who managed to come back. And the hunter, our hunter, and our mage, they were with them.
I had to take care of you that day. Do you remember? It was rough going. Stuffed you into my workshop for a while. You wouldn't stop crying.
What do you want me to say? You know what happened next.
They killed that thing. That's all there is to it. Saved all of us. Right?
Don't ask me about the rest. Don't ask me about the details. Okay, kid? I wasn't there. You know I wasn't there. I stayed on our island, and I kept one eye on my work, and one eye on you, and I built a boat. And somewhere on the mainland, both of them died.
Okay. Fine.
They say our mage called her gods and they sent her lightning and fire. And she bound that giant with it, wrapped it up in it. They say the hunter, our hunter, gave it the blow that sent it falling. And as it went down, it killed them both.
I don't know if I believe that. It's what they say, but it sounds like bullshit to me. But does it make you feel better?
No. I figured it wouldn't.
Do we have any more of this? There was – I swear there was another bottle. What?
Fuck.
Come on, stop crying, I just—
Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Fandom: Stand Still Stay Silent
Characters/Pairing: Various OCs - Timo/Svitlana, Tarja, & Vesa
Rating: 13+
Length: 850 words
Summary: You say you want to know how it went. What happened to them. Are you sure about that?
Other: Tarja is the speaker here. This conversation takes place when Vesa is still pretty young - either before or shortly after they leave for Kajaani. (So, older than seven, younger than ten, probably.) The events referred to are also mentioned in Tarja the Boat Builder, but you don't need to read that one to make sense of this. Prompt was "last stand". [Original post]
How it happened, or so they say
So. You want me to tell you how it happened, do you?
Fine. Since you keep asking. Maybe you'll leave me alone after this.
This didn't happen long ago. This didn't happen when the world fell, either. So, I'm not going to pretend like it did. None of that.
There was a hunter. And there was a mage. And they lived by the lake, at Ontojärvi. That was where they lived. And those two had a son, and the hunter had a sister, and that sister was a carpenter. And they all lived together, and they were very happy.
Wait. Hold on a minute. Pass me that bottle, will you? I'm too sober for this.
Don't look at me like that.
Right. So. There was a troll hunter. He was big and strong and gentle, and he had a scar on his face, going all the way from his temple down to – here, just like this. And he loved his sister and his wife and his son.
There was a mage. Well, I guess she was a mage. She wasn't a right and proper Finnish mage; she was something else, I don't know what. But she had magic, and she could use it, so she was a mage, I guess. Anyway, she was kind, and she had hair like the sun. And she loved her son and her husband and her village, in that order. Maybe she loved her sister-in-law, too.
And they all lived at Ontojärvi, and they were very happy.
But they heard that there was danger coming. That there was something coming from the east. So everyone looked out for it.
It was a giant. That is what they said. I don't know how they found that out, what scouts they sent out into the forest, what things those scouts saw there. I don't know what the mages saw when they went walking in their dreams. Or what that other mage might have seen, that yellow-haired woman. Maybe she turned into a wolf and went searching for it, running to find it in the night. She said she could do that. I don't know if I believe it.
Anyway. It was a giant. The biggest fucking – sorry, kid. I mean. It was the biggest giant anyone had ever seen. It was made up of all kinds of people and animals and trolls and beasts and they were all screaming in a language that nobody could understand. They said it was so big that the lake wouldn't stop it. They said that no amount of water would keep it from coming. That it would just pass right through, and part of it would touch the bottom of the lake, and the rest would tower above the lake, and it would plough through the water and overcome all of our little islands, and that would be the end of Ontojärvi.
Do you believe that?
Well. They went to take care of it, some hunters from that village. And they went into the forest to the east, and most of them didn't come out. The ones that did come back, well – they were in rough shape. I know you know this. I know you saw them. Everyone saw them.
Anyway. A lot of them died. And the giant came closer. People talked about sending word to Kajaani, about asking for reinforcements. But everyone figured, by the time the message got there, and their forces were mobilized, we'd be dead, all of us. Screw it.
So, a second group went out. They were better-prepared than the first, or at least they thought they were, because they'd heard what they were dealing with from the poor sods who managed to come back. And the hunter, our hunter, and our mage, they were with them.
I had to take care of you that day. Do you remember? It was rough going. Stuffed you into my workshop for a while. You wouldn't stop crying.
What do you want me to say? You know what happened next.
They killed that thing. That's all there is to it. Saved all of us. Right?
Don't ask me about the rest. Don't ask me about the details. Okay, kid? I wasn't there. You know I wasn't there. I stayed on our island, and I kept one eye on my work, and one eye on you, and I built a boat. And somewhere on the mainland, both of them died.
Okay. Fine.
They say our mage called her gods and they sent her lightning and fire. And she bound that giant with it, wrapped it up in it. They say the hunter, our hunter, gave it the blow that sent it falling. And as it went down, it killed them both.
I don't know if I believe that. It's what they say, but it sounds like bullshit to me. But does it make you feel better?
No. I figured it wouldn't.
Do we have any more of this? There was – I swear there was another bottle. What?
Fuck.
Come on, stop crying, I just—
Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
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